Most of this quintet's movements are derived from Carl Sandburg's brilliant young Chicago Poems; from uses as simple as sharing a poem's title, to creating an all-out setting "sung" by the brass quintet. The foxtrot is my own insertion; an imagining of wandering Sandburg's Chicago via its dance orchestras.
Prayers of Steel was commissioned by Chicago's Gaudete Brass Quintet, for their April 2013 John Corigliano Birthday Celebration Concert, and is dedicated to John Corigliano on his 75th Birthday.